NBA 2K6

If you love your Basketball, chances are you will be frothing at the mouth for 2K Sports' latest instalment of their yearly NBA title, NBA 2K6. With the dawn of the Xbox 360 closely approaching, we at NZG thought it would be appropriate to school you in the next-gen dunks and handles that you won’t see the likes of anywhere else.

One thing that will be familiar to fans of the NBA 2K series will be the feature list found in the game, which includes several returning modes that made last year's game such a success. The first, 24/7 mode, allows you to create your player from scratch, enter him in a variety of competitions to improve his abilities, and basically live the life of an NBA star on the rise. A new facet of this mode will have you attempting to best your competition in the hopes of landing valuable endorsement deals.

2K6's franchise mode, once again known as "the association," returns and will allow you to take total control of your favourite franchise, from draft picks to the entire coaching staff. While that facet of it isn't new to the association mode, the ability to track draft picks with year-round scouting is. The game also promises some new communication controls between you and your players, and an upgraded feedback system where you can expect to receive reactions not only from players and coaches, but also from the press and the fans themselves.

As in previous versions of the game, the crib is your home away from home in 2K6. As you earn credits in the game for accomplishments, you'll be able to cash them in to purchase new items for your pad, buy music, or play mini-games.

Outside of game modes, however, one of the big focuses in development has been in making sure that the NBA stars play to their tendencies. If you play a game against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, for example, you should be seeing Bryant taking shots over anyone who gets in his face. Similarly, LeBron James is more apt to have a star performance night after night.

You can also expect to see the CPU fighting harder for their points, and putting up “smarter” shots. In previous years the CPU would blatantly give away easy looks, and not move the ball around when players were open by the hoop. This year though you will have to think out your defensive strategy more than ever, and get ready to use the ball more effectively when in possession of it.

Graphical improvements in NBA 2K6 include lighting and reflections on the floor, as well as the huge attention to player detail with the next-gen system. For example, although it looks somewhat over-exaggerated, you can make out player reflections on the waxed wooden floor of the arena, and even beads of sweat on their foreheads and arms. Perhaps the most striking visual improvement is in how the crowds look. With the added horsepower of a next-gen console system, each spectator in the crowd appears to be fully 3D, so this means that the days of looking up into the stands and seeing a bunch of cardboard cutouts are just about over.

The game's soundtrack as always features some top hip-hop acts such as The Roots, Common, Aesop Rock, Aceyalone, Lyrics Born, RJD2, Zion I, Jean Grae, Hieroglyphics and others. When it comes to the court however, there isn’t a remarkable uprise in sound levels and authenticity seeing that it’s on a next-gen system. However, you will still hear the squeaks of the waxed floor, and the stadium announcer is as clear as ever. The commentary, though, looks to have stepped up a notch, with 2K Sports releasing figures stating that the dialogue in the game has gone up by somewhere around 25%.

Undoubtedly the stiffest opposition the game will have at launch is EA’s NBA Live 06. But it looks like 2K6 is going to put up a very strong showing at the start of the next-gen wars, and could be a contender for one of the system’s best sports titles for the year.